Looking for a desktop replacer

[rago]

1. What is your budget? Up to $1350

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15-17"

3. What screen resolution do you want? 720p will be fine

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Desktop replacement

5. How much battery life do you need? 2-4 hours, i'll often be plugged in

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? Bioware RPGs (dragon age, mass effect), Demigod, Dawn of War 2, maybe some AoC, and i'll probably try out starcraft 2. Hoping for high settings but ive been using a x850 for six years so i'm used to cutting settings.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.) Great deal of video files, schoolwork, video editing

8. How much storage (Hard Drive
capacity) do you need? I'm going to use a 80gig SSD drive for the OS and whatnot and then likely whatever is in the laptop already.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? As long as i can, even if it ends up not being a "gaming" pc in a while i'll be using it either because i'm stubborn or because money isnt available.

I'd hope for around three years of medium though.


11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? Bluray would be cool as i'm going to be plugging this pc into a TV so it can be used for home entertainment but generally anything 1080p will probably be downloaded anyway so its not very important.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. Not going to dicriminate

13. What country do you live in? USA


14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

If at all possible, i'd enjoy something that isnt very glossy simply because of smudges but thats just a thought for now, no worries gloss is pretty.


Additionally, currently reveling in the idea of a i7 ... maybe its just that ive been using a AMD x64 2800 for so long but the idea is very appealing.

Also, i'm using a pc somewhere other than my home (internet connection due to moving) so if any other information is needed i'll be looking at this thread tomorrow.



Thanks until then to anyone with some thought.

 

[buwish]

How about something like this?:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220869

 

[geekapproved]

I would think that 1.73ghz is gonna be quite slow for gaming. I would go for a faster i3 dual core or faster i5 dual/quad core.

 

[CsG_kieran_2]

everybody loves an alienware and am sure you will to

http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-m15x/pd?refid=alienware-m15x&~ck=mn

It will handle your gaming easy
+se you still have $150 to customize it

 

[Avro Arrow]

I would think that 1.73ghz is gonna be quite slow for gaming. I would go for a faster i3 dual core or faster i5 dual/quad core.

No i7 is going to be slow for gaming, for that matter, neither is any Athlon II, Phenom II, i5 or i3. It's time you learned about something called CPU architecture before you start talking about clock rates.

everybody loves an alienware and am sure you will to
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-m15x/pd?refid=alienware-m15x&~ck=mn
It will handle your gaming easy
+se you still have $150 to customize it

No, not everyone loves Alienware. I personally can't stand it. It's an overpriced, fancy-looking piece of Dell. It's a fashion statement for people who can't afford a car.

For what you want, your budget is way too high. You can get what you need for under $800. Take a look here at the ASUS N52DA-X1. The heart of any gaming machine is not the CPU, it's the GPU and the Mobility Radeon HD 5730 is one sweet mobile GPU. Coupled with a Phenom II X4 P920 CPU, it will do anything you want it to with ease. Don't expect it to game like a desktop, if you want something that games like a desktop, get a desktop. No mobile GPU is capable of it but this little monster will run the games you want at the settings you want or higher and it leaves you with enough money to spend some time in the Dominican over the winter. I think that would sound pretty damn nice, don't you?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220755

 

[rago]

Thanks for your input guys. I want to say, mostly, that its good to feel disconnected from the allure of the fairly more expensive laptops and that can certainly be a great thing

@ Avro Arrow (your comment on alienware, i think, was brilliant. I'll have to remember that one) The ASUS N52DA-X1 is certainly a great option, but I cant seem to get away from how its processor seems to be lacking versus others in a +/-$30 price range. Now thats just a observation and i'm certainly not very well acquainted with the workings of a quadcore . But this setup is a great reference point none-the-less.


@buwish I saw your link once and since cannot get past this sites sorry, page cant be found bit. Shame really .

and @CsG_kieran_2 Ive got to agree with Avro's comment, to some degree, concerning maybe just how silly it might be to buy into a more ego-fueled brand name when others are just as close by anyway. Thanks for the post though, the decal does look nice does it not?

Anyway, i'll be trying to get some more information on intels "hyperthreading/turbo mode" deal and hopefully even more information on the uses/availability of clocking a single core 2x to work with applications that would work more efficiently with it. That and seeing about usb 3.0 availability. Doubtless that 2.0 will be around for a long time still, but, ive seen the uses of external hard drives for laptops utilizing a simple usb cord so easily increased transfer rates is something to look into for the future.

Thanks to you all

 

[Avro Arrow]

It was my pleasure. I'm glad I was able to be a source of information and entertainment. That's generally what I aim for.

 

[dEAne]

I have bought this one the only thing I don't like is the battery life.>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146850

 

[hpfreak]

how about an ASUS G73JH-BST7 from bestbuy

Core i7 740
ATI Radeon 5870 (one of the best GPUs on the planet)
1600x900 p (17.3)
Full Sized Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (backlit)
Very Very good cooling system, will keep everything cooler than a laptop comparible in specs would.
8 Cell Battery
DVD RW
TwinTurbo Boost which is a button that your press, and once you press it the laptop overclocks both the CPU and GPU allowing you to do a little bit more.
I don't know anyon who wouldn't want to get this, an Apple laptop like this would cost $3350, an Alienware would be atleast $2000, and with HP Envy, you would pay $1600 but it will overheat.
$1199.99

i ordered one, and i can't wait for it.

 

[Klosteral]

Holy crap you can get a G73 for only $1200 now?!!... oh wait. That is America...

Anyways, I agree with this guy as the ASUS G73 is one of the best laptops out there, especially for the price it's at. It comes in other models with up to 12GB RAM, 1920x1080p resolution and a blu-ray drive.

The ASUS G53 is a 15.6" version of the exact same thing (almost) if you reconsider and want something a bit more mobile.

 

[hpfreak]

Holy crap you can get a G73 for only $1200 now?!!... oh wait. That is America...

Anyways, I agree with this guy as the ASUS G73 is one of the best laptops out there, especially for the price it's at. It comes in other models with up to 12GB RAM, 1920x1080p resolution and a blu-ray drive.

The ASUS G53 is a 15.6" version of the exact same thing (almost) if you reconsider and want something a bit more mobile.

actually it comes with up to 16 GB of RAM, but you were close,
the problem with the G53 is that it has more of a heating problem, since everything is way more compact, ASUS had to comprimise their cooling system in the smaller gaming laptop.
still a great buy, but if you were comparing against g73, i would stick with big boy.
one thing im not sure about the G53 is the GPU, the G73 uses a 5870, which can play most of todays game on high settings, but on the G53 i think they are using a GT 460m, which is a very good GPU, but not th best...
anyways, i hope you find your laptop Rago, there are a lot of good laptops out there, and the prices are shifting all the time, if you can't find one by Christmas, then you hit the jackpot when all the prices are going down because of overstock sales from Christmas, and the year of 2010.

 

[Klosteral]

Oh, i see. The G53 comes with a GTX 460M, not a GT460M. That ranks in very close to the 5870 (16th to 14th on NoteBookCheck.com).

But back to topic, the ASUS G73 is probably the best desktop replacement you could buy.

 

[hpfreak]

Yeah, I bough mine for 850 from bestbuy, basically the same specs but it has a 720 instead of a 740 core i7 processor, not a big deal since it is only 100 mhz, but the problem is it only has a 3 month warranty, but i'm gonnna load it out until i find a problem, so nothing will be wrong. but anyway, if you want to save 300 bucks get the Factory-Refurbished Model at bestbuy, then get a GeekSquad warranty for 3 years, which is way better than bestbuy's 1 year warranty, and it will still fit you budget. BestBuy has good customer service, but real bad warranties.
850+300=1050 (Factory Refurbished and GeekSquad 3 Year Warranty), or 1199, for a new 1 with a bestbuy 1 year warranty.

 

[Klosteral]

In AUS, for the same model, it costs me $2289 at the CHEAPEST!
Bestbuy and Newegg only ship to the US...

 

[hpfreak]

that's the downside... many companies oveprice their laptops outside the USA...
I know how they need to make a profit to pay employees and do all the things they need to do to keep the company working... but something that any consumer should know, is that companies are only going to price items at the highest possible price without scaring away customers, or recieving a lot of negative impact to make themselves look like a stupid rip-off... it is sort of like Apple, even though there are many people that love their Apple computers, I would never spend that much on a computer on any scale, to get an apple Air (comparible to a notebook..) would cost $1000 atleast....
well, im astraying off topic, but anyway, you will never be able to not get ripped-off, even if you build your own pc, because even Intel, AMD, Gigabyte,... overprice all their individual hardware.
So all shoppers bewarned... Everything Companies sell you, there first goal is not for you to be pleased, they just want you to buy their products and live with them for a year or two, and then get a NEW computer or othr appliance from them...

 

[Avro Arrow]

In AUS, for the same model, it costs me $2289 at the CHEAPEST!
Bestbuy and Newegg only ship to the US...

Try ewiz.com. They're a US-based site that ships internationally.

 

[rago]

Thanks for the added information guys, I'm sorry to say that I'll likely not be able to afford the ASUS G73 even if its so appealing specs wise though I've got to say I'm not really digging its case design more towards the back end.

However, despite its obvious weight issue, ive been enjoying the TOSHIBA Qosmio X505-Q892 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214050).

Understanding that the 460m isnt as powerful as the 5870 (http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html) but ive read it runs cooler when the pc is idle and saving some cash doesn't seem like that much of a problem to me at the moment. Also its resolution is something i haven't seen before (1680 x 945) but its still 16:9 so sweet .

Ive chosen intel over amd for the moment after reading some about turbo boost/turbo core and their effects and i've been thinking about upgrading the i5 in this x505 to a i7 whenever the sandybridges come out if its determined to be that they are worth it. Maybe that plan is wasteful, but i need to get my hands on a newer pc by the 3rd (school) and its a acceptable option for upgrades in a bit in my eyes.

Recently I had the opportunity to browse the internet with a friends toshiba satellite and the touchpad/keys were comfortable as far as i know . The only grievance i'm really having with this pc is its size, its lack of a 3rd ram slot, and the issue of finding a bag to carry it around with. Just hoping that google can help me out with that though.

Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts as to this choice that could be helpful. That or just another recommendation of a laptop with a intel processor (i'm willing to pay for that, sorry Avro Arrow ) a on par GPU (i know i might need to read up on the 460's drivers or some complaint there) and hopefully it dosnt have the styling of a certain kind of aircraft.

Thanks for all the effort guys.

 

[hpfreak]

just remember that your are getting a Quosmio, which is a huge contrast to a Satellite.
but anyways, Quosmio is Toshiba's dedicated gaming laptops, so it should run games pretty well.
the one thing that im not 100% sure about, is your plan to upgrade the processor at a later date, this might seem reasonable, but bying seperates laptop hardware is expensive, especially the CPU and GPU, and it's usually not that easy to find a supplier, you would have to order online... the main concern that i have for you, is that if the processor is not upgradable to the sandybridge architecture, im not 100% sure if they will be using the exact same system as the current sockets and such, but i'm not sure, i usually review tech once it arrives, not while its still being rumored or planned...
anyways, Merry Christmas! and i hope you like your laptop! once you get it, it would be nice if you post online about if you where happ with your descision to get it.


don't foget to select best answer!

 

[Klosteral]

that's the downside... many companies oveprice their laptops outside the USA...

The reason it is so expensive is because of the following:
Assume it is a $1000 laptop. First, there is $200 shipping ($1200). Then we are charged 10%GST on top of that ($1320). A 5% import duty goes on top of that ($1386).
Then the retailer must pay their rent, their staff, their bills and still get their profit.

That is why we pay so much!
These rules apply to everyone - business or individual - if the item costs more than $1000AUD including shipping.

 

[rago]

Alright anyone who cares, i chose the quasimo x505 892. Just waiting for the thing to come in the mail and since i have a camera I'll post pictures and whatever just because I can.

I'd like to ask a additional question about storage options.

I have the following two hard drives laying about for the moment and i'd like to know if its advisable to use them along with the pc.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167005

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148591

Mostly I would like to use the SSD drive for the OS and program files, that's the general idea for use from what Ive read anyway, and the other maybe as just a spare or something ... i dont think the seagate would be much better than the stock drive, but who knows.

Partition advice or guidance to a thread dealing with setting up partitions for the OS, for easy formatting if errors occur, or any of that if someones got the information.


Thanks for the insight so far aswell.

 

[rago]

Best answer selected by rago.